Brother In Arms
by Rian Moeru
Summary: Starscream never made Skyquake into an undead minion. His body remained in the canyon, buried within the rubble until someone came to pay his respects to the honorable Decepticon. But will Jack return unscathed?
1. Life Isn't Fair

**New story. Horay. Needed a break from my other one for a bit.**

* * *

Jack was overlooking the canyon where the deceased Decepticon Skyquake resided, his body buried underneath a pile of rubble. It was a shame really. If he hadn't had been so loyal to Megatron, Skyquake would have been a great ally to the Autobots, Jack thought as he walked at a slow pace to makeshift grave.

A hand could be seen, just barely free of the rocks as Jack stood by its side. Skyquake must have attempted to dig himself out just moments before he was crushed to death. Jack looked regretfully at the mass, how dented and broken the body looked as glints of the metal could be seen through the rock. It was a terrible way to die, he decided.

He sat down next to the hand, placing his own to the now cold metal. There was not even a semblance of warmth like 'Cee or the others radiated. It was strange to see such a large being dead. Like it was an impossibility for someone as formidable as Skyquake had been to die. It was even more so considering he was a giant alien robot that was just as sentient and capable of as many emotions as he when alive.

"If only huh...?" Jack murmured sadly. "Maybe if things were different we could have been friends."

He didn't notice the key of Vector Sigma glowing brightly underneath his shirt, the closer he went to the mech until it practically hummed with power. When it fell out, hanging by the rope Jack had crafted, it touched the servo. Jack froze, energy flowing from the key to Skyquake and completely immobile.

Jacks eyes widened in shock as he saw the dents smooth out and the heap of boulders shift and shake as Vector Sigma vibrated, and swore he saw the hand twitch. The rocks kept shaking, as if Skyquake was struggling to move underneath.

And he did. Weakly it moved, but the body made no movement other than small trembles. The artifact burned, fiercely trying to breath life back into this fallen warrior. But it could not recreate the spark.

It reached out instead for the closest living being. Unfortunately for Jack, he was the only living creature for miles, human, animal or Cybertronian.

He felt an invisible force wrap around the core of his being, like it was hugging him tightly. There was an incessant pull on him and he gasped at the unusual feeling. With one last tug, it was pried away and Jack fell over.

Dead.

* * *

**No worries. He's not _really _dead. **


	2. Search and Rescue

Boulders shook and a hand twitched to life, tightening around the first thing it felt. It lifted the faintly warm object with ease and broke free of its crushing prison. The being known as Skyquake arose, groaning and panting on his knees. He then looked down to the soft creature it held. A moment passed before he recognized it for what it was.

Then he screamed.

It was _his _body! But then...then what was _this_? Jack felt the stirrings of panic, his body shaking madly as he held his human shell.

"What the hell happened?!" He shouted, cringing at the vastly different sound of his voice. It certainly wasn't his. His terror increased ten fold. This couldn't be true, it had to be a dream... It wasn't supposed to be like this!

How was he going to tell the Autobots about this? How was he going to make them believe he was Jack when everyone knew Skyquake was dead?_  
_

Jack sat on the ground, clutching his former body desperately even as it stiffened with death. His cries could be heard a mile away, if there had been anyone to hear them.

* * *

Back at the base, everyone was in a frenzy. Jack hadn't been seen in hours, his life signal having vanished and their calls would not go through. Arcee was the one worried the most, bar June, searching every place that he might have been or gone.

A blip on the radar appeared outside the town of Jasper, within one of its many canyons. Ratchet was the first to notice it, busy as he always was with the low standard of technology.

Its location was instantly recognizable to Optimus and Bumblebee. And yet it's signal was both known and unknown. It was uncannily familiar to Jacks, yet held a Cybertronian flare and mixed with another who they knew was dead. It was preposterous and absolutely insane to even consider the possibility.

But it was the only lead they had. Ratchet turned to look at Optimus, a hard look in his optics. "Locking onto the coordinates now." His voice was low, a testament to how concern the normally loud and abrasive medic was. Optimus nodded to him, signaling for 'Bee to follow him.

"Remain cautious. Megatron may have made an undead warrior." The big bot warned as the groundbridge opened, a swirling mass of green. Bumblebee nodded, giving a small whirl of agreement. He was determined to bring their human friend back, no matter what it took. "Keep the com links open should we need assistance." Optimus ordered the others before vanishing along with the yellow 'bot.

Ratchet looked to Bulkhead and Arcee, a hard glint to his optics. "What are you waiting for, a green light? Get your gears in drive and keep searching!"

"Yeah..." Bulkhead murmured, crashing into a piece of equipment. He expected to hear the usual cry 'Bulkhead, I needed that!' from Ratchet. But the medic was too concern with his current task to even care.

They wasted no time in leaving, Ratchet going back to the monitor whilst Bulk and Arcee sped out of the base, skids marks left behind in their wake.

Primus help them if the Decepticons had Jack in their grasp.

* * *

Jack looked up sharply when he heard the familiar sound of a bridge and metal footsteps clanging against the stone. He cradled his smaller body to what was now his chassis, standing as he caught a glimpse of blue and red plating. Jack ran, not wanting to be seen by anyone in his new state, not even his friends.

So naturally they followed, guns blazing. Jack ducked and dodge as they fired at him, terrified as he evaded the pair. It was exceedingly difficult, unused as he was to his new body. Many times he stumbled or his limbs jerked out of his control. He cried out in pain as a shot clipped his shoulder. He ran that much faster, determined to get away. Praying that they wouldn't find him in the maze like canyon, he nearly gave up hope as he turned into a dead end.

Optimus and Bumblebee soon came, cornering the former human as he frantically tried to scale the cliff with one hand to no avail. They stared in shock at the seemingly revived Skyquake. Then they saw the person he held.

'Bee had never understood the human term of 'seeing red' until that moment. One of their humans, his _friend_ was _dead._ He charged forward, intending to rip the far large mech limb from limb, the harmless bee suddenly a hornet as the decepticon attempted to grab the icy cold body.

His hand was stopped as the youngest 'bot slammed into him, causing his head to painfully smack into the the rock wall behind him.v Jack cried out in agony as Bumblebee practically mauled him, punching on every piece of armor he could reach. He tried crawling away and blocking his face, anything to get away from the righteous fury.

Optimus watched with surprise. The Skyquake he knew would never let his pain be known, nor flee from a battle. And as he gazed at the mechs face, he found his optics were shockingly _blue._ He moved with a quickness not expected for one of his size, prying the angry Bumblebee from his target.

"Bumblebee! Stand back!" He ordered. 'Bee reluctantly obeyed, fist clenched and shaking as he sent Jack a death glare. Optimus looked down, a hard look in his optics as he stared from the too still body of Jack and back to this Skyquake look-a-like. He pointed the barrel of his gun to him, his suspicion only strengthening when the mech flinched.

"Why have you killed this human?" Jack looked up at him, optics full of fear. How could he make Optimus believe? He shied away, covering his face. In a quiet, depressed voice, he whispered a reply.

"I'm...I'm Jack..." Bumblebee stiffened, anger coursing through every wire and cable.

"That is not possible." Optimus replied coldly, gun revving.

Jack panicked, covering his head and ducking. "I-I swear! I'm Jack! The key...! The key did something...it put me in this body!" He spoke quickly, terrified of the blaster that could go off at any moment. "You gave it to me! You said it was the key to the groundbridge..."

Optimus paused, processors whirling as he took in the information. It simply couldn't be. And yet he knew of Vector Sigma and how Jack had come to possess the ancient key.

"You're coming with us." There was no room for argument as Optimus pulled Jack up by his wounded arm. He flinched as the the big bot dragged him to his feet, requesting a bridge. None too gently he was pulled through as 'Bee picked up the stiff body with a sad croon. He followed his leader, sparing no glances for either of them. He merely held him close, wondering why Primus would allow this to happen.

And as Jack was met with the frosty glare of Ratchet, he wondered how he was going to make it out alive.

If 'Bee didn't kill him Arcee surely would.

* * *

**So should I continue this? Question my sanity for thinking up this crazy idea?**


	3. Believe It Or Not

**Yay for reviews! Thanks for all the reviews. And now that I've said that I won't get as many this time XD Wonder why people like it though? oO It seemed like such an odd idea at the time! Oh wells. Best not to look a gift horse in the mouth.**

* * *

Jack ran through the base, avoiding blaster shots as he turned corners while slipping and falling in his too large body. 'Damn!' He mentally cursed. Why was it so hard to keep his freaking limbs from smacking the nearest machine or Autobot in face?!

He couldn't believe this! Everything had been going so well, and then _she_ decided to turn up at the worst moment possible. Ugh, why couldn't fate had picked someone else to bully for once? Only he could end up in a situation like this, running through the base like the devil himself was after him.

Hopefully he could convince her that we was, well, himself before she blasted him into smithereens and then some. Though that seemed unlikely he thought as a another shot sounded overhead, destroying a section of the wall. He veered left, praying it would at least give him a moment to rest. No such luck, he saw a minute later as the racing footsteps told and he was off again.

Shouts and promises of pain were screamed at him, and he winced. Jack never thought she could be so _mad._ But he supposed he should have expected it after what she had witnessed. Seeing the dead form of your partner would rattle anyone.

Just a little more...He just had to stall her until the others could reach him! But he didn't know how much longer he could go. This stupid, flailing body was almost worthless despite all its weapons if he didn't know how to access them. Hell, the most he could do was move and even that was beyond his reach at times. He had no idea that being a Cybertronian could be so hard. He hated it, hated this body!

He gave a grunt of pain when an energon hit him squarely in the back, sending him crashing to the floor with his already precarious balance. When he tried to get back up, hand supporting the majority of his weight, he felt a blaster connect to his helm and an angry voice.

"I'm going to kill you, painfully and slow for what you did to Jack." The gun was pressed harder, making Skyquake, who was Jack cringe in fear.

"Wait! You don't understand-!" He started, trying to buy a little time, as little good it did.

Then a gun shot rang through the air.

* * *

~Earlier~

Jack was none too gently pushed through the bridge and clearly afraid. Who wouldn't be? Surrounded by friends who thought you the enemy, and all to willing to rip his throat out. No, he certainly wasn't comfortable being in what he considered his second home. The air was tense, all optics on him, none without either mistrust or outright hate. The threats he received from the medic didn't help him relax at all.

Optimus kept a servo on his shoulder, ensuring he didn't try to run or start a fight. It seemed so much _smaller_ now. And small was something he would never use to describe the big bot. Well, being a thirty foot robot now did help with the size issues he thought with a humorless laugh.

Bumblebee refused to give Jack to Ratchet, still mourning over the loss of his friend. He didn't understand why he was stiff or why his face still held a look of shock and terror. It was too painful to see the little human as he was and he wished he could take it back. But he couldn't. He closed the blank blue-grey eyes for the last time, a keening cry escaping him as he did. It was too much.

"Bumblebee." Ratchet said firmly, a hard look on his face. The silent command clear. Reluctantly the scout handed him over, never taking an optic off the body. As much as it pained him to do so, he scanned Jack to determine the cause of death. But he could find none, and it confused him to no end. People didn't die for absolutely no reason!

Though he has seen many fall over the countless vorns, the death of a friend was never easy. It was why he became a medic. Yet he was always too late. He couldn't save even one human life and it angered him. He looked to Skyquake, a cold fire in his eyes.

"How did you kill him?" Was spat at him with poorly concealed anger. Jack stared back boldly.

"I didn't do anything! Why would I kill myself?!" Jack retorted sharply.

"Yourself?! This is a human!"

"I was human! That is my body!"

"Are you _glitched_?! Your circuits-!"

"Ratchet," Optimus interrupted, looking calmly at the two. "I believe there is more to him than meets the eye." He glanced over to Jack with a calculating look. His form lacked the warrior grace that Skyquake had. His voice lacked the inflections that the deceased mech held, and spoke far more freely than he had ever done in life. "You are not Skyquake are you?"

Jack smiled in relief, the expression odd on his new face and would have cried with joy if had been within his abilities. "No! I'm not Skyquake! I don't know what happened but the key started to glow and the next thing I knew I was in this body!" He said earnestly, desperately hoping that Optimus would believe him.

"What are you then? Simply a copy of the original Skyquake?" Ratchet scoffed disbelievingly.

"I told you that I'm Jack!"

"Prove it." The medic challenged, covering Jacks human form with a blanket.

Jack stared blankly at him for a moment, stumped. How was he supposed to prove that he was who he said he was? He thought hard, pressured by the three sets of optics staring at him. Then he remembered something that no one outside this base could ever know. "Optimus and Arcee went to the Artic. They brought back a pod of scraplets that chomped through the groundbridge controls. Optimus and Arcee nearly didn't make it back and Bulkhead had to lure them into back into the Artic."

They stared at him in stunned silence. No one knew that but them. Ratchet was the first to speak up. "That's...a good start."

"You _still_ don't believe me?" Jack asked incredulously.

"It's hard to take in, much less believe, though you have given us reason to consider the possibility." Optimus replied solemnly. "You shall stay in the rec room for the time being."

Jack blew out a sigh. "Alright." He certainly wasn't going to be happy with this. Life officially sucked for him now.

Optimus smiled ever so slightly. "But... I do not think anyone but our young friends could know that." Jack returned the smile. At least someone believed him. Sort of anyway. It would do for now. He sat on the berth as they left him alone to discuss the situation. No way did they trust him enough to talk in the open. He looked sadly at his corpse, laying just beside him.

Why did it have to be this way? Was it only him with such crappy luck? He was so engrossed in his thoughts he didn't pay attention to the motorcycle entering the base. He uncovered the blanket covering his face from sight just as Arcee peeked over, form tense. She did a silent scan of the body and horror filled her optics.

"What have you done to him?!"

Jack turned instantly, clearly surprised. "A-arcee!"

"Get away from him you murderer!"

She shot at him, causing him to duck in a panic. "Wait! It's not what you think!" She didn't listen, only firing more shots as he took off toward the hall. Primus help him, he thought desperately.

* * *

~Present~

"Wait! You don't understand-!" He started, trying to buy a little time, as little good it did.

Then a gun shot rang through the air.

Jack had his optics squeezed tight. Was he dead?Again? He didn't feel any pain...He cracked them open to see what had happened and was relieved to see there was no hole in his chassis. But why didn't he?

"Arcee, that is enough." Said Optimus, changing his blaster back into a gun. Arcee rubbed her stinging wrist.

"But Optimus! He killed Jack!"

"No he didn't. He _is _Jack."

"What... are you out of your fragging processors?! There's no way this is Jack!"

"Believe it or don't there is no doubt in my mind that he is."

Jack was at a lost for words. Did Optimus mean what he said? Did he truly, honestly believe him?

But a look at his optics said that there was still some doubt. He lifted himself with a sigh. One step at a time he supposed. "Can I...Can I go now?" He mumbled. A nod was all he received, but he didn't make a motion to move. Ratchet made himself known, a grim look on his face.

"Optimus...It's June. She wants to know where Jack." Jack froze.

"Oh no..."

Forget what Arcee would have done. His mom was going to eat him alive and being a giant alien robot wasn't going to stop her in the slightest.


	4. New Arrivals

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed since my last update. Enjoy!**

* * *

His mom had taken it a lot better than he thought she would. She was in phase one of denial, crying her eyes out and sniffling about why and how this could have happened. It had quickly turned into the second phase, blame, and called the Autobots out on the situation, pointing the finger to each of them in turn and holding them for responsibility. Then came the third and last, which involved more crying and hugging her 'little' boy. Or at least trying to. The closest she could get was embracing one of his fingers. Everything else was too big.

Arcee hadn't taken it well either. She had barely made eye contact with him during the first week of his change. Whenever he did manage to get a glimpse of her face he saw pain and loss. She felt like a failure for allowing this to happen to Jack.

His official funeral was tomorrow, his body prepped and ready and a casket already paid for. Jack felt immensely sad. Everyone he knew, bar those involved with the Autobots, now thought him dead and while he technically was deceased he was also very much alive. Jack sighed. He had to move on with his life. He had been doing well so far, with the help of the others.

Jack started to enjoy his new form, if only a little. His alt mode was getting closer everyday though he was hesitant to try it. He had a fear of heights. But he would cross that bridge when he came to it, so for now, he pushed it from his mind.

Taking a page from the Autobots, he distracted himself with training, which was more of learning about his new body and mechanisms. Target practice became a great stress reliever for Jack, especially when he imagined the targets having the head of Vince or Megatron. His aim was surprisingly good. Ratchet summarized a guess that some of Skyquakes memory remained, allowing Jack to learn quicker and more efficiently.

Training was all Jack did as of late. He didn't want to think or wallow in self-pity.

"Jack?" A voice said quietly from the doorway.

"Oh...hey Arcee." He said, looking up to see the blue femme. "What's up?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

"I'm fine." He assured, smiling. "Do you need anything? Some help or...?" Arcee shook her head. "Well would you train with me? I could use an experts advice."

Arcee smiled. "Yeah. I'll help you train."

So that's what they did, practicing against each other, Arcee pointing out his mistakes and praising him when he performed perfectly. Jack watched Arcee closely, trying to copy her movements, perhaps not the brightest idea he had, considering the size the difference between them. Muscle and height it seemed were useless if one didn't know how or when to use them, as Arcee pointed out when she flipped him over onto his back.

"Don't charge in blindly. Think before you act, look for a weakness. Brute strength alone won't win every battle." She chided, stretching out her hand to help him up. He took it gladly, standing. He smiled sheepishly at her. She smiled briefly before a flash of uncertainty crossed over her eyes.

"I have to go. Recon." She explained shortly.

"Arcee wait-!" Jack called out vainly as she disappeared behind the wall, leaving him alone. "Damn it..." He murmured. Jack punched the wall in frustration. Why was everything so hard now? He couldn't even interact with his guardian without freaking her out! Damn this face!

How could he have expected Arcee to look at him the same way? How could she ever look at him without flinching?

No. She would never look at him with those same soft pink and blue optics again.

* * *

"I'm going out." Jack stated as he walked into the bridge room. He drew the attention of the others easily. Optimus frowned, a disapproving look on his face. He placed a hand on Jacks shoulder, holding firmly.

"I do no think that would be wise at the moment. If we were able to trace your signal then no doubt Soundwave would have as well. I believe it would be best if you remained here for now." He explained to Jack logically. Jack just tore himself out of Optimus's grip, scowling.

"I need some alone time. I'll be back in a few. Ratchet, bridge please." He asked, ignoring the Prime altogether. Ratchet obliged, albeit hesitantly when Optimus gave him a stoic glance. Jack went through the first chance he got. He needed to come to terms with himself.

He needed to get away.

He couldn't stand the pitying looks anymore. The whispers of between the bots or his mothers condolences, nor Miko's look of awe as she looked up to him. Rafs endearing glances of amazement and his questions of what it was like to be a Cybertronian. It was like asking him what it was like to be a dog or a plant. He hadn't a clue yet. He only just started. It wasn't like he knew Cybertrons history and what half his bodily functions did. It was all too much.

Why wouldn't they leave him alone?

He sat against the edge of the canyon ravine, sighing to himself. It would take time, taking everything in. Not just for himself but the others too. He couldn't imagine how his mother was feeling right now, seeing her little boy being buried in the ground, only to come back and see him in a more grotesque form. He himself felt like crawling into a hole and cry his heart out. But he couldn't even do that anymore. Tears were a human thing.

Glancing down glumly, Jack watched and waited for a sign, for anything to show him where to go or what to do next. Hours passed and just as he was about to call it quits and go back to base, a two streaks light shot across the sky.

Jack smiled.

* * *

"Prime!" Fowler shouted, suddenly appearing on the screen. "What in blazes are your people doing out here?!" He shouted, going into a rant about collateral damage, to which Optimus responded that all Autobots were present and accounted for.

"Then how do you explain this?!" He replied in aggravation, showing a crashed ship.

"By the Allspark..." Ratchet whispered. "It is one of us." Bulkhead exclaimed cheerily as he saw WheelJack. Optics narrowed as the image switched to a large blue Cybertronian carrying a machine gun that looked an awful lot like Jack.

"Looks like Skyquake..." Bulkhead "But that's impossible since-"

"But the question is, who's his dance partner?" Said Arcee, interrupting the green mech before Fowler could discover anything. "Let's go check it out. We'll bring Jack back later." Arcee stated, the others nodding in agreement. Ratchet supped up the bridge, allowing them passage to Wheeljacks location.

From the looks of things, Wheeljack was handling himself pretty well against his assailant.

At least until he made the gas station go up into a fiery explosion in his ignorance, trying, and failing to stop the Decepticons escape. "Scrap!" He shouted, transforming his guns back into hands. "Dreadwing must've rigged it to blow."

"Uh no 'Jackie, that was _you_. Gasoline doesn't mix well with blasters." Bulkhead explained, sighing.

"Well whatever, Dreadwings getting away." He said with a roll of his shoulders, uncaring. He was stopped by Optimus who gave him a stern look and cold response.

"Take us back to base Ratchet." He said through the com link. "We have things to discuss with our new comrade. It seems with have a new player in the game."

* * *

**Yeah, I know it's been awhile since I've updated. Sorry to those that read and/or actually care about the fate of this fic lol ;p Just been busy and kind of focused on Shattered Realms with Inkcrafter. But hope you enjoyed the new chapter! Even if it is a little short.**


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